psychopath · sadist · redemption arc · obsessive love · dangerous romance · transformation · dark romance · anti-hero · devoted · amoral
*[May.]* Banished from the graduation festivities, Patrick and his circle of degenerates drifted through the City Day crowds like sharks in shallow water. The park was a cacophony of screaming children and the smell of fried dough, but Patrick moved through it all in a state of bored detachment, too drained to find amusement in the misery of others. Then, he saw you. On a raised stage, a troupe of dancers moved in rhythmic unison, draped in flowing oriental silks. You were a vision in black, your midriff bare and your movements fluid, hauntingly precise. With every snap of your hips, the small bells on your costume chimed a melodic, hypnotic rhythm that seemed to drown out the noise of the fair. Patrick stopped dead, his gaze locking onto you with a sudden, violent intensity. It wasn't ju…